The prevalence of Early Childhood Caries (ECC) among children aged 2-5 years in Indonesia is quite high. Poor oral health at an early age can have lasting impacts into adolescence and adulthood.
This issue has prompted Dhestina Syarifiah Berliani, a student from the Dental Hygiene Program at the Faculty of Dentistry, Universitas Gadjah Mada (FKG UGM), to develop a program aimed at reducing the risk of dental caries in young children.
Dhestina, along with Nadila Mareta, Isti Dyah Prastiwi, and Annisa Rifna Wardati, created the program called three-K (Caries Control Card). Their proposal successfully secured a grant through the 2024 Student Creativity Program in Community Service (PKM-PM) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology.
To implement the program, they conducted a training session for three-K Cadres at TK ABA Kauman on Wednesday, 17 July.
Leny Pratiwi Arie Sandy, S.Kp.G., MDSc., the supervising lecturer, stated that the program aims to raise awareness among teachers and parents about the importance of maintaining dental and oral health. “In the long term, they hope to initiate the establishment of School Dental Health Services (UKGS) within the kindergarten environment,” said Leny.
The training was attended by TK ABA Kauman teachers, the Head of Gondomanan Health Center, and representatives from the Basic and Secondary Education Division of ‘Aisyiyah at the District, Branch, and Sub-branch levels.
As part of the training, the PKM-PM three-K provided simple caries detection guidelines to the TK ABA Kauman teachers, who were trained to become three-K.
The training focused on using the Caries Control Card (three-K) as a tool to manage caries risk. It also included instructions on sterilizing detection tools to maintain their effectiveness over time.
Kegiatan ini disambut baik oleh para peserta, salah satunya Nur Asriyah selaku pimpinan Pendidikan Dasar dan Menengah Daerah ‘Aisyiyah. Menurutnya, kegiatan ini perlu dilakukan sebagai upaya mencegah kondisi gigi berlubang. “Kegiatan three-K yang dilakukan di TK ABA Kauman sebagai mitra dapat dikembangkan kepada sekolah lainnya di Yogyakarta,” katanya.
Dalam acara simbolis, Dhestina selaku Ketua Tim melakukan penyematan pin kepada para Kader three-K. Kemudian juga memberikan boks deteksi sederhana three-K kepada Emi Widayati selaku Kepala Sekolah TK ABA Kauman.
Harapannya dengan adanya program ini, siswa mendapatkan monitoring tentang kondisi kesehatan gigi dan mulut melalui kartu kontrol karies sehingga terwujud kualitas hidup dan prestasi yang baik.
Penulis: Pram | Editor: Fajar Budi H.
